'different-colored' originates from English as a compound of 'different' and 'colored'. 'different' ultimately comes from Latin, specifically the word 'differentem', where 'dif-' (from 'dis-') meant 'apart' and 'ferre' meant 'to carry'. 'colored' derives from Latin 'color' via Old French 'colour'.

'different' passed into English via Old French 'different' and Middle English 'different', becoming the modern 'different'. 'color' came into English from Old French 'colour' and Middle English 'colour', later spelled 'color' in modern English; the adjectival form 'colored' is formed with the past-participial suffix '-ed'. The compound 'different-colored' is a straightforward modern English formation combining these elements.

Initially, components meant 'carried apart' (different) and 'hue/appearance' (color); over time they kept related senses and the compound came to mean 'having different colors' or 'not the same color'.